Shanghai Surprise

In case there was any doubt that China's runaway construction growth is being achieved with shoddy materials, workmanship, and corner-cutting engineering, there was a reminder last week as a 13-storey block of apartments completely toppled over in Shanghai. Luckily the building was unoccupied and somehow only one construction worker was killed, a miracle given China's population density which tends to result in people perishing in large bunches. But it can't make you feel too secure to be living in one of the development's other towers!